Skip to main content

We are urgently seeking 500 new Life Defenders (monthly supporters) before the end of October to help save babies from abortion 365 days a year. Your first gift as a Life Defender today will be DOUBLED. Click here to make your monthly commitment.

Live Action LogoLive Action
Massachusetts House

Massachusetts reacts to Roe overturn: Full insurance coverage and more late-term abortions

Icon of a megaphoneNewsbreak·By Bridget Sielicki

Massachusetts reacts to Roe overturn: Full insurance coverage and more late-term abortions

Members of the Massachusetts House passed an emergency bill last week that would codify the right to abortion and ensure that people who travel to the state for abortions are not prosecuted. House Bill 4930 passed overwhelmingly with a vote of 136-17 and has been sent to the state Senate for consideration.

The bill states that “access to reproductive health care services and gender-affirming health care services is recognized and declared to be a right secured by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth.” It also says that any attempt by a “foreign jurisdiction” to bring civil action against a person or organization receiving or committing abortions in the state “shall be an interference with the exercise and enjoyment of the rights secured by the constitution and laws of the commonwealth.”

Additionally, the bill includes provisions requiring health insurance companies to cover the full cost of abortion without deductibles, co-pays, or cost-sharing. It also broadens the state’s abortion law to allow abortions after 24 weeks for “severe” fetal anomalies in addition to the “fatal” fetal anomaly exception that currently exists.

READ: Massachusetts Planned Parenthoods willing to give 12-year-olds free condoms

NBC 10 reports that many Democrats spoke in defense of the bill and just one, Rep. Colleen Garry, voiced her opposition. Garry said that the bill “goes beyond” what she could support.

Dear Reader,

Every day in America, more than 2,800 preborn babies lose their lives to abortion.

That number should break our hearts and move us to action.

Ending this tragedy requires daily commitment from people like you who refuse to stay silent.

Millions read Live Action News each month — imagine the impact if each of us took a stand for life 365 days a year.

Right now, we’re urgently seeking 500 new Life Defenders (monthly donors) to join us before the end of October. And thanks to a generous $250,000 matching grant, your first monthly gift will be DOUBLED to help save lives and build a culture that protects the preborn.

Will you become one of the 500 today? Click here now to become a Live Action Life Defender and have your first gift doubled.

Together, we can end abortion and create a future where every child is cherished and every mother is supported.

“We have some sincerely-held religious and personal beliefs that have been vilified by members who’ve spoken before me,” she said. “And that’s why I had to call in and voice that there are some pro-life people in Massachusetts who honestly and truly believe in pro-life issues and do not do anything to try to vilify or judge women, and we should not be judged.”

Introduced in response to the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade, the legislation also follows an executive order — signed just minutes after the Court’s ruling, by Republican Governor Charlie Baker. In that order, Baker confirmed that abortion will be protected in the state and he vowed that the state will not assist in any extradition requests from other states seeking to pursue criminal charges against abortionists or women receiving an abortion.

House Speaker Ronald Mariano said that the “significant difference” between the House bill and the executive order “is we’re putting it into the rule of law as opposed to his executive order, which only covers the areas which he has control over.”

Members of the Senate (also overwhelmingly Democratic) are expected to pass their version of the bill. “There are many pathways towards enshrining the Commonwealth’s reproductive health care access into law, and so we look forward to passing a final bill which confirms our resolve to protect reproductive rights,” said Senate President Karen Spilka.

“Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!

Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.

Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.

Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!

Read Next

Read NextPHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 13: Dr. Arthur Caplan takes part in a panel discussion prior to the 2012 Liberty Medal Ceremony at the National Constitution Center on September 13, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Human Rights

Bioethicist slams women's rights groups for condemning surrogacy

Cassy Cooke

·

Spotlight Articles